OTTAWA — The Canadian Internet Registration Authority wants Canadians to know where their emails are going — and keep more of those messages on Canadian soil.

Almost all Canadian Internet currently is routed through American networks because Canada has only two Internet Exchange Points within its borders, says the organization that administers the .ca Internet domain name. Of the total of 350 such points around the world, the U.S. has 85.

That means an email sent from Toronto to Vancouver must to be sent to an exchange in the United States, and possibly elsewhere abroad, before being rerouted to its recipient on the west coast.

“They are transiting other jurisdictions which have other laws and other institutions and other rules,” said Byron Holland, president and chief executive of CIRA, which is recommending six additional exchanges in Canada.

He said an added benefit to keeping the traffic in Canada would be faster Internet speeds. “You should be able to see and feel increased performance on the Internet. Right now a majority of traffic is being sent through major exchange points in the United States.”

Sending the traffic through the U.S. causes delays that computer network professionals call called “lag” or “latency.”. Shortening the distance signals travel would provide faster Internet service.

It would also keep Canadian messages and other Internet material out of the hands of authorities in the U.S., which has different privacy laws and wiretap legislation.

Last year the U.S. government seized a number of Internet domain names it believed were being used to stream copyrighted video over the Internet. The web address of Rojadirecta.com was seized because the Spanish companies websites were being operated from U.S.-based servers, even though the company was not breaking any Spanish laws.

Since they are based on American soil, the U.S. believes those websites should be accountable to U.S. laws. Similar arguments could be made for messages and content flowing across American Internet networks.

To a lesser extent, CIRA argues that setting up new exchanges in Canada would bring down the cost of transmitting data, as Internet service providers (ISPs) must pay the owners of American networks to transmit data across the border.

Holland said CIRA is pressing for new exchanges in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal and Halifax. The two existing Canadian exchanges are in Toronto and Ottawa.

Holland said CIRA has already started bringing various ISPs and businesses together to create the exchanges in various Canadian cities. CIRA, which employs several engineers, will contribute its network expertise as well as some equipment and some financial assistance, according to Holland. He would not put a dollar figure on the amount CIRA is prepared to invest.

The exchanges are essentially just large warehouses filled with computer servers to route traffic. They are typically administered by ISP groups that pool traffic through the facility and share operation costs. The cost of setting one up can range from $10,000 to well over $100,000.

By backing the creation of new exchanges, CIRA is making progress on its mandate to help better Canada’s Internet landscape. The organization regularly lobbies for Canadian Internet issues, including adding French accents to Canadian Internet domain names and hosting the annual Canadian Internet Forum, which brings together the country’s top minds to discuss issues and potential roadblocks that may affect Internet adoption in Canada.